August 18, 2009

Crispin and VW break up & Tug translates the press release.

What VW said:

"Our goal of rapidly increasing our volume in a mature market
requires the Volkswagen brand to evolve into a more relevant mainstream
choice," Tim Ellis, VP-marketing at Volkswagen of America, said in a
statement. "The Volkswagen brand needs to inspire our base of
enthusiasts as well as reach out and captivate those in mainstream
America. Therefore, we are re-evaluating all areas of our business and
after careful considerations have decided to take the necessary steps
to ensure we have the right agency partner in place."

Translated:

"We're going to get rid of that freaky, weird shit that Crispin kept coming up with and are going to appeal to the middle-American morons who never understood those crazy-ass campaigns anyway with what they really want: Sheet metal and ads that make sure to spell the dealers' names correctly."

What Crispin said:

"We have been privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Volkswagen for the past four years and are extremely proud of all that we have accomplished together. As a rule, we do not participate in reviews for our current accounts, and this will not be an exception. We wish Volkswagen the absolute best."

Translated:

"Up yours VW."

I really am going to miss those quirky campaigns that CPB created and still miss the exceptional work that Arnold used to do.

Great translation. I would have called it pretty much the same way. Don't you think there's also something between the lines there about how sales are slipping and they're going to the mainstream out of fear?

I love that Cabrio spot! Definitely one of my favs from, what, 1997? VW had some great ones in the late 90s. But weren't those W+K?